Prime are an explosive new band from Nottingham/Sheffield, UK who are known for their powerful, edgy rock with post-punk and funk influences. Renowned for their live shows Prime have received admirable reviews, including this one from the NUSIC website: ”Prime create furious, in your face rock & roll… They’re one of the best live bands on the circuit“.
I spoke with Lee Heir (Vocals) Daniel Ison (Bass/Vocals) Kieran Hill (Guitar/Vocals) Zero (Drums) and asked them a bunch of Q’s which resulted in some random and entertaining comebacks!
Ok, lets get introductions out the way, who’s in the band, how did you meet?
Lee: “I was always a big fan of Dan’s music when Prime started playing and invited him to join the group once our original bassist had left. Happily he accepted! Zero I had met dj’ing and doing sound at our local rock pub. There was a really really boring acoustic act on and I asked him to put the WWE wrestling back on in the background on the big projector screen to stop me falling asleep! Then Kieran replied to an ad I put up looking for a guitarist… We met, bitched about how annoying past band-mates had been, wrote some tunes together and got on a storm!”
What genre do you think you fit into?
Kieran: “Easy listening.” (Laughs)
Daniel: “Jazz Funk (Smiles)… Post-punk, new wave, I’d say. With rock n’ roll rooted in blues… Hmm, don’t say that… All music is rooted in blues!”
You’ve a new single out today called ‘Bye Bye’, whats it about and what was the motivation to write it?
Lee: “Well if you read what some local music critics say, it’s a pop love song. But… it’s actually a quite dark and confusing song. I like getting stuff like that out of my mind and into a song, it’s a good release for me. It’s took on a different lease of life now it’s online as a single and music video, and I can forget about why I originally wrong the song.”
How do new songs you’ve recorded lately differ from older material?
Lee: “The band are better, more raw, more exciting, more energy to their performance. Although there was that rough edge with Tiago, who produced and played guitar on our first recording project before we became an official band.”
Daniel: “I had a pint with him the other day…”
Was there ever another career choice for any of you before you decided on music?
Zero: “Heavy metal bin-man.”
Daniel: “When I was little I wanted to be a weatherman…”
Kieran: “For as long as I remember since being at school I wanted to do music. But I can remember at one point I wanted to be a pilot… it’s only about twenty-five grand to get the licence. Fuck that, I haven’t got twenty-five grand to be a pilot.”
Lee: “I’d have been a footballer. Sadly the first team I played for as a teenager were shit. Comic book artist, I fancied that.”
How awesome is your job? Top 3 perks…
Lee: “On the odd occasion that we get paid properly like we should it’s pretty good!”
Daniel: “Don’t say that. Travelling, meet loads of people. Being with friends. Looking at the pretty girls in the audience…”
Zero: “Well you can… I can’t see fuck all!”
(Zero pauses to check his phone as a message comes through)
“Hmm, a paid gig… two sets of forty-five minutes on July 5th… What sort of stuff… Michael Jackson songs! Fuck off!” (Tosses phone onto the chair next to him)
Everyone I’ve asked seems to have a different approach to this, what’s your songwriting process?
Kieran: “Wake up at 3am with a shit jingle in your head. Send to lead singer.”
Daniel: “Lots of hours at the Bunker9.” (Zero’s band rehearsal studio in Nottingham centre)
Kieran: “We all polish things in our own way and add a lot to the songs.”
Lee: “We’ve become more varied. I used to mainly write lyrics and vocal lines to band jams but we have lots of ways of writing now, including building songs up step-by-step.”
Is there one venue or gig that stands out for you… if so why?
Daniel: “Sheffield o2.”
Lee: “Ilkeston was fun… I like playing in the sticks, they’re easier to please cos theres nothing to do in small towns. The gigs are funnier and you have more fun.”
Zero: “Supporting Space the other week was fun.”
Kieran: “I really liked The Wardrobe in Leeds, it was rammed.”
What bands are you loving right now on your local scene?
Daniel: “Damn Heavy, Future Shinjuku…”
Kieran: “I like Prime, they’re alright…”
Zero: “Who do I like? I don’t like anybody!”
Lee: “Cherry Hex and The Dream Church are good, I saw them play with Twin Kidd in Nottingham. Twin Kidd’s singer has a lot of colour and personality.”
What gigs and festivals do you have coming up in the near future?
Lee: “We’ve got some independent festivals, gigs in Leeds, and Doncaster for the first time, and we’re also involved in some charity all-dayers over the summer. Then we go back to Rough Trade in Nottingham and Firebug in Leicester, and the o2 Academy have invited us back for some more shows.”
I know you’re a fan of quirky questions Lee, so here’s a few for you all:
What two celebrities would you pick to be your parents?
Zero : “Darth Vader and Terminator, cos they can breathe better than me. No, Darth Vader and Barbarella…”
Daniel: “Mick Jagger…”
Kieran: (Adopts kid’s voice) “Go on Granddad do the dance.”
Dan: (Adopts Mick Jagger accent) : “Nahh I’ve dan’ it enough times already!”
Lee: “Rene and Renatta.”
If you could get rid of one UK city or town which would it be and why?
Daniel: “Skegness. A place where dreams go to die… more caravans than there are people.”
Kieran: “I think Mablethorpe is worse than Skegness.”
Zero: “Leicester, cos nowhere’s ever open!”
Lee: “Liverpool… Although they’re my favourite big football team, every time we’ve played there we got ripped off!”
How would you describe the colour yellow to a blind person?
Zero: “Bile.”
Lee: “Custardy Slop.”
Daniel: “Naa, its a happy colour, like the sun!”
Kieran: “How can you explain a colour…? …A bit bright!”
Get the new single here:
Amazon: www.amazon.com/Bye-Prime/dp/B01EVVXUOQ
i tunes: itunes.apple.com/us/album/bye-bye-single/id1108539495
Google Play: https://play.google.com/store/music/album/Prime_Bye_Bye…
The ‘Bye Bye’ EP with live tracks and remixes is out June 23rd so look out for that!
Want to know more about Prime? Here’s all you need to know: